Messi hits hat trick as Barcelona torment Real Betis

Lionel Messi was lauded by opposition supporters on Sunday after he scored an outstanding hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis, which put the Catalans 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with 10 games remaining, according to Reuters.

It was an utterly dominant performance from the La Liga leaders which avenged their 4-3 loss at home to Betis in November and took them on to 66 points after 28 games, while Atletico have 56 and third-placed Real Madrid have 54.

Messi, who scored twice in Barca's 5-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League on Wednesday, now has 29 goals in 26 La Liga appearances and 39 strikes in all competitions.